Rupert - Please tell the fans the true story

With all the speculation of the Club's debts ,rumoured administration, and being financially curtailed by Barclay's Bank,surely the board should be 100% clear as to the level of the financial plight to both the Shareholders and the Fans.

We've all seen the cut backs with the ground being reduced in certain parts and the playing staff now down to the youngsters - yet we still back our club week in week out.

Please can we have the real truth of how bad the situation really is

Two words TFC, dream on.

Hasn't he already then?

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/?page_id=10348

With all the speculation of the Club's debts ,rumoured administration, and being financially curtailed by Barclay's Bank,surely the board should be 100% clear as to the level of the financial plight to both the Shareholders and the Fans.

 

We've all seen the cut backs with the ground being reduced in certain parts and the playing staff now down to the youngsters - yet we still back our club week in week out.

 

Please can we have the real truth of how bad the situation really is

Not the greatest of ideas see as the window is coming to a close and any clubs in for Skacel, etc will surely play hardball if they know just how far down s hit creak we actually are. Have a read of the last accounts and you should be able to work out how bad it is.

I'd say that covers the gist of it. Maybe we'll get an update after the transferwindow closes.

I think the publicly available accounts should cater for your lust of knowledge, as well as the trading update released last month.

Why the surprise, either we sold Raziak, Skacel, Saganowski, Euell, Davis, Thomas who we were happy to sell, or we have to sell players we wanted to keep. Simple isn't it? I'm not happy but I understand why. Now get behind the team.

Perhaps itmight be a good idea to significantly reduce admission prices, we DO have an inferior squad, so why continue charging top prices to watch a bunch of kids

Perhaps itmight be a good idea to significantly reduce admission prices, we DO have an inferior squad, so why continue charging top prices to watch a bunch of kids

The team this year are much better value than the last two years.

The team this year are much better value than the last two years.

Value = quality + price.

The more the quality and the lower the price, the greater the value.

Unfortunately, the quality of the youngsters is seemingly apparent, but not yet proven conclusively, although the price has remained comparatively high.

Some may argue that the current team is better value, which is undeniable from the point of view that their cost to us is minimal, but those paying for the entertainment provided for their money might feel that they are getting cheap product for the same cost.

Perhaps some paid nothing to watch the same kids last season, which was outstanding value when it currently costs £25 to watch them now.

The team this year are much better value than the last two years.

I said squad not team !!!

With all the speculation of the Club's debts ,rumoured administration, and being financially curtailed by Barclay's Bank,surely the board should be 100% clear as to the level of the financial plight to both the Shareholders and the Fans.

 

We've all seen the cut backs with the ground being reduced in certain parts and the playing staff now down to the youngsters - yet we still back our club week in week out.

 

Please can we have the real truth of how bad the situation really is

This has all been as clear as day as soon as the last half year accounts were published, subsequently Lowe and Wilde reviewed the then current status and left everyone in no doubt. We need to get the wage bill down to match our income and we need to sell assets to counter the debt we are piling up from our operating losses. Shortly we will see the annual accounts and you will all get to see the full picture, but you will still get the idiots saying we should spend more. It's very simple, the bank has given us limits and if we fail to adhere to them, they will just bounce the cheque and along comes administration. We have to demonstrate to our lenders that they have more chance of a return by allowing the clubs current policy to continue, then if they pulled the plug. Most other businesses and the plug would already be pulled, but football clubs have had a charmed life in that respect up to now. Anyone who thinks administration is the better option is talking out of their arse. We have a chance, maybe not that great, but certainly better than administration.

I said squabble not support !

I said squad not team !!!

I saw 2 teams v Stoke that didn't back that up. The squad last year was dire.

This has all been as clear as day as soon as the last half year accounts were published, subsequently Lowe and Wilde reviewed the then current status and left everyone in no doubt. We need to get the wage bill down to match our income and we need to sell assets to counter the debt we are piling up from our operating losses. Shortly we will see the annual accounts and you will all get to see the full picture, but you will still get the idiots saying we should spend more. It's very simple, the bank has given us limits and if we fail to adhere to them, they will just bounce the cheque and along comes administration. We have to demonstrate to our lenders that they have more chance of a return by allowing the clubs current policy to continue, then if they pulled the plug. Most other businesses and the plug would already be pulled, but football clubs have had a charmed life in that respect up to now. Anyone who thinks administration is the better option is talking out of their arse. We have a chance, maybe not that great, but certainly better than administration.

Perhaps they should have taken the SISU offer, could that have made things any worse?

Perhaps itmight be a good idea to significantly reduce admission prices, we DO have an inferior squad, so why continue charging top prices to watch a bunch of kids

Good plan.

Let's start by giving a nice refund to the few fans who tried to help out and renew their season tickets in the summer when e needed money because we had no football.

Oops no money in the bank

OK let's upset the season ticket holders who invested in the club by reducing the prices to every one else who didn't bother or couldn't afford to help us out when we needed the money in the summer

Oops that's probably illegal

Oh I know - let's give season ticket holders a special discount on their cup match tickets

And

bingo yes they did..

And WHO set the prices for the season tickets and the early bird renewal schemes last year then?

Correct, not the current incumbents but those who did what exactly to solve the financial problems? Yep the same ones who gave promotions and pay rises to people working in SMS and they had a board of how many directors?

Nice idea though, needs a bit of work

He can spell out the situation as clearly as he likes, there'll still be many fans who'll come back with "tell us the truth rupert" and deny having heard any of it. Lowe has explained the situation, anyone with half a brain knows the situation, so can we just get on with the situation?

indeed mr adrians, indeed

Why the surprise, either we sold Raziak, Skacel, Saganowski, Euell, Davis, Thomas who we were happy to sell, or we have to sell players we wanted to keep. Simple isn't it? I'm not happy but I understand why. Now get behind the team.

Totally agree. We can't shift the ones we want to because of the dosh they are on! I wonder who was the chairman who allowed GB to sign many of these wasters (and others) on silly money......? Surely not the same Michael Wilde who is now chairman of the footballing set-up! Some record.

Lowe should come out and say the following.

"Me and Mike have come back because the club is on it's last legs and we want to asset strip like **** in the hope of getting our money. There are investors waiting in the wings, but they want our shares for nothing. As Chairman of the PLC and on behalf of the noddy football chairman we appeal to all fans to support what we are doing beause we are far more important than Southampton Football Club"

How bad are our finances ?

Well the last trading update showed we were losing a unsupportable £1.2m a month if memory serves . Rupert's probably cut something like £500k p/m out of that with his player disposals this summer but we'll still well up Sh1te Creek without a paddle to use a technical term .

To save you the bother of reading the readily available annual reports.

Y/E June 2007 - £4m Operating Loss.

And as reported in the trading update

Y/E June 2008 - £17m Opertaing Loss.

How come the £13m extra loss you ask? £6.7m reduction from the loss of parachute payment. I would imagine the additional £6.3m loss has resulted from a combination of

• Higher wages for new players (Euell, Saga, Thomas, Safri, John)
  
• Loan deal salaries for Wright, Dailey, Lucketti, Perry, Hammill, Vignal, Pericard.
  
• a continuation of the downward trend in turnover of items much as matchday income and merchandise.
  
• The payoffs for the boardroom merry-go-round
  

So there we have it, if costs exceed revenue at somepoint we will be fooked. Selling the family silver (player trading) will save us for now but we are getting to the bare bones of saleable assets.

Basic economics dictate what we have to do now is get the wages and other outgoings to a sustainable level.

The route out - cut our cloth, regroup, remember what got us to the top league many moons ago and attack this league with passion hard work and determination. The crowds will return, the sponsors will clamour, players will want to come, we will get promoted and be the stronger for it. Who knows we may even attract a billionaire. (I am not ITK before yous ask).

My glass is certainly one quarter full as I write this.

HA...i remember so many saying they enjoy this league..with it being fair etc.....

what a load of old twaddle

HA...i remember so many saying they enjoy this league..with it being fair etc.....

 

what a load of old twaddle

I agree, I hate this league.

Instead of gambling to go straight back up we had a sabbatical and then bet everything on the last year of the parachute payment money.

I agree, I hate this league.

 

Instead of gambling to go straight back up we had a sabbatical and then bet everything on the last year of the parachute payment money.

Ironically the one player we did buy that summer (Ricardo Fuller) is now playing in the Premier League :confused:

He can spell out the situation as clearly as he likes, there'll still be many fans who'll come back with "tell us the truth rupert" and deny having heard any of it. Lowe has explained the situation, anyone with half a brain knows the situation, so can we just get on with the situation?

Yes as usual I am in agreement with you.

There do however seem to be a significant number of people who either do not understand the situation or do not want to understand the situation posting comments which bear no relation to the situation and expect someone to spend £20 million plus on a whim to help us out..

I still like this league.

"You can't handle the truth"